Sports scholarship athletes doing well -balancing training, academics

The National Sports Commission (NSC) created history in 2016 by affording athletes for the first time, scholarships to study abroad. The athletes were awarded scholarships to study at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona Campus and G.C. Foster College of Physical Education and Sport in Jamaica to the tune of $4M each, for four years.

(from left to right front.)Director of Sports Christopher Jones, Commissioner to the National Sports Commission, Lavern Fraser and Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Ivan Persaud. (From left to right back) Emmanuel Archibald, Alque Stanley, Natrina Hooper and Owen Adonis

National Sports Commission commissioner, Lavern Fraser, during a press conference held today, said the scholarships were awarded based on the athletes’ performance while representing the University of Guyana (UG) at overseas events.

“The UWI Mona Campus offered their athletes a scholarship. Of course, this is an opportunity we here in Guyana could not allow to go, and so as soon as we got back we started the agitation, and I must say that I was really pleased with the kind of response that we got,” Fraser stated.

The recipients include three athletes and one Physical Education teacher from the St. Rose’s High School.

Twenty- year-old Owen Adonis who specialises in the 100 and 200-metres races is pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Management Studies. Emmanuel Archibald 22, who is a 100-metre race athlete, is pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology while 25-year old Natrina Hooper specialises in a number of disciplines which include triple jump, long jump, and the 100 and 400-metre races. She is pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Science and Gender Development studies. However, Alque Stanley, the Physical Education Teacher is the first ever Guyanese to be awarded a scholarship in the capacity of teacher.

During today’s press conference, the scholarship awardees detailed their experiences thus far. Archibald said, “Training has been somewhat hard, to an extent, but after a while, you get into the system and it is kind of different from Guyana, but it’s okay, and the school is taking care of mostly everything.”

Adonis stated that, “the training has been very difficult; it’s a larger volume than we are accustomed to in Guyana, and it is very consistent. We have been training morning and afternoon, basically every day, six days a week and that took a while to get accustomed to, but I have grooved into it. School wise, it was easier to adapt to than the training. I am very comfortable and school has been doing well.”

Hooper noted that, “The training is somewhat difficult seeing that I am now getting some jump training that I am not really accustomed to, but so far, I am improving in my high jump, 200 and the 400 metres… I will be starting classes this semester, and hopefully I will be balancing both.”

Meanwhile, Stanley pointed out, that “so far so good, looking forward to becoming a better individual, an athlete come 2020. Classes are well, quality of living good so far.”

Chairman of the Sports Commission, Ivan Persaud said scholarships of this nature are needed for the development of sports in Guyana. “We cannot have elite athletes without scholarships, without being afforded the opportunity to have free meals, free accommodation, free studies and most of all the opportunity to train at the highest level.”

The Chairman urged the awardees to take the opportunity very seriously, and make every effort to perform to the best of their ability, not only academically, but in their various disciplines.

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